"Mention rumba and the suavely antique band music of the Buena Vista Social Club may leap to mind. But its primitive predecessor, born on the docks in the steamy jams of Cuban and African stevedores and popularized by Gonzalo Asencio, was more direct: layers of packing-crate percussion propelling call-and-response singing between soloist and chorus. Latin-music fans will recognize the sound, often used as an interlude in modern-day salsa, timba and rumba. Featured here as the main event, it is deeply African and even more deeply hypnotic."—Boston Herald

"Arrangements by the 'Irving Berlin of the Rumba' … include the haunting, harmonically rich 'Caballeros, qué mujer' (the lyrics deal with a candid streetwalker conversation), the epic 'Mi tierra' that chants the beauty of his homeland and references its diverse African heritages, and love-stricken ballads such as 'Siento que me regaña el’ and 'Yo soy tu ley.'"—Sing Out!

The folk music archives that form the wellspring of these Smithsonian recordings are truly incomparable. Encompassing a wide variety of styles, they reflect the heart, soul, and backbone of the American experience as well as indigenous music from around the world. Folkways' impeccable sound and documentation does these artists proud, setting their work off as the treasure it is.